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The Coconut Club Orchestra
"The
Coconut Club Orchestra are fantastic! And so is Michael.
Michael is one of the great singers of our time"
Merv Griffin quoted on national television;
on CNN's "Larry King Live", 2001
In 1998, Merv
Griffin, owner of the Beverly Hilton Hotel (Beverly
Hills, California) launched something new- and something old:
the Coconut Club, an updated version of the classic Cocoanut
Grove, the glamorous nightclub that used to draw in the
stars at the Ambassador Hotel. Merv used to sing at the
original Cocoanut Grove with Freddie Martin's orchestra.
(In fact, his big hit song was "I've Got a Loverly Bunch
of Coconuts!"). If you wanted to dance the night way to
Big Band swing and salsa, in an Old Hollywood room reminiscent
of the 40's, this was the place to be. The three-level club
was set in the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton and featured
dining for 450 in a tropical setting (with gold & silver palm
trees and wild-eyed neon monkeys), plus swing dancing on the
dark-blue, 900-foot dance floor - featuring the sounds of
Swingerhead on Saturdays, followed by Latin jazz with Salsa
Caliente, and the 70's disco sounds of Boogie Knights
on Fridays. Says Merv: "We believe it will be the supreme supper-dance
club on the West Coast."
And
it certainly seemed popular, the dance floor was filled with
well-dressed patrons expertly executing the rumba and mambo,
and celebs such as Billy Crystal, Hugh Hefner, Andy Garcia,
Loni Anderson, Esther Williams, Gabriel Byrne, Mickey Rooney
and Victoria Principal (whose husband surprised her with
a birthday party here in 1998.) The first scheduled event was
a star-studded post-awards party for the People's Choice Awards
show. Singer Lou Rawls was a also performer at the club.
And later, Frank Sinatra Jr. performed with a 20-piece
orchestra.
Naturally, Michael Andrew and some of his coast-to-coast
Swingerheads performed, every few months, as special guests
inside Merv Griffin's Coconut Club since its opening. While
ringing in New Years Eve 1999 together, Merv
- legendary host asked Michael Andrew to be his resident bandleader
inside his swingin supper club every Saturday night. M.A. proudly
accepted this prestigious position in 2001. The contract was
extended over a dozen times leading to an 18-month run. This
elite group of Michael's became known as 'Michael Andrew
and The Coconut Club Orchestra'. This band is still making
a splash around the Los Angeles area and the West Coast with
Merv Griffin and
at special events he hosts.
Special guests that joined The CCO on stage included Trini
"Mr. La Bamba" Lopez, Ray
Gelato, Michael Kramer, Red Young, Eiliena Williams, Gerry
Maccoux, Dem Brooklyn
Bums Big Band, David
Basse, Strange Cargo's pinup gal, LeeAnn Westover,
Marc Tortoricci, Vaughn Suponatime
and the vocal group, The Real Seduction were all crowd
pleasers. The
celebrity-filled dancefloor was coached by dance instructor-to-the-stars,
Roscoe Farsnworth. Polly Bergen even performed
brought her stunning cabaret show to The Coconut Club for one
special night.
The Coconut Club Orchestra entertained a galaxy of stars including;
Merv
Griffin himself, Bill Nye the Science Guy,
Stan Freberg, Brooke Sheilds
and Chris Henchy, Mr.
& Mrs. Donald O'Connor, Robert Loggia, Michael
Feinstein, Polly
Bergen, David and Pamela Hasselhoff, Paul Survino, James Coburn,
Phyllis Diller, Nancy Sinatra, Dihanne Carroll, Nancy McKeon,
Bob Saget, Cyd Charisse, Eva Marie Saint, Judge-Judy and Jerry
Sheindlin, Jonathan Silverman,
Howie Mandell, Jack Klugman, Penn
Jillette,Tom Beringer, Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Boxleitner,
Cybill Shepherd, Ted Danson,
Martin Short,
Hollywood's leading Publicist duo, Warren and Barbara Gilbert-Cowan,
and so many more!
MA and the CCO performed with Merv at his many properties, special
events, employee Holiday parties, private celebrity tributes,
Chtistmas Tree Lane, festival concerts and even for Merv's
surprise birthday party.
Stay tuned for photos from our celebrity-filled concerts at
the LaQuinta
Arts Festival. The Coconut Club Big Band, with Mort Lindsay,
backed up Merv, Michael
Feinstein, Judy Johnson-Lindsay, Carol Channing, Norm Crosby
and Suzanne Somers!
The 3,600-foot club was open only on Fridays and Saturdays,
converting back to a conventional ballroom for the rest of the
week. Minimum age was 21. Free dance lessons were available.
There's a small supper menu, a full bar (called the Mango Bar)
and a cigar room named Chimp's (which is owned by owned by Chuck
Norris and Jim Belushi.)
Other celebs seen at the Coconut Club include Tom
Cruise, Melaine Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Jack Lemmon, Neve
Campbell, Michael Jackson, Robert Duval, Jennifer Love Hewitt,
Olivia Newton-John, John Voight, Leslie Ann Warren, Tori Spelling,
Jerry Lewis, Penny Marshall, Tony Danza, Regis Philbin, Angela
Bassett, Armand Assante, Shirley Jones, Mark Wahlberg, Don Knotts,
Vanna White, Mel Brooks & Anne Bancroft, Martin Short, Cybill
Shepherd, Jack Klugman, Tom Beringer, Melissa Gilbert & Bruce
Boxleitner, Martin Landau, Gabriel Byrne, James Coburn, Jackie
Collins, Jon Lovitz, Lou Rawls, Ted Danson & Mary Steenbergen,
Edward James Olmos, Angie Dickenson, Barbara Eden, Robert Vaughn
& Faith Ford.
Merv Griffin's new CD "It's Like A Dream" is available
on AMAZON.com on Pat Boone's 'Gold' Label Records. Take
some time and tour our site for some great Merv Griffin links,
interviews and photos! And
visit Merv's cool site; www.MERV.com
UPDATE:
Please note that The Coconut Club is temporarily closed. Stay
tuned for the exciting details on it's re-grand-opening. You
will find more information on our "Gigs" pages. You
may also call Merv Griffin's Beverly Hilton at 310 274-7777
for last minute updates and to ask when we will be back.
Thanks to
www.SeeingStars.com
for the celebrity updates!
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Unprecedented
crossover live radio and television appearances and promotions
keep these Swingerheads in the public's eye constantly building
a huge fanbase of thousands.
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